Leni Alexander

Helene Sara Alexander Pollack (; 8 June 1924 – 7 August 2005) was a German-Chilean modernist composer who was among the first to experiment with electronic music in Chile. She fled to Chile in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime in Germany and eventually became a naturalised Chilean citizen in 1951. Alexander was also known for her efforts to promote Chilean and Latin American music across Europe, in addition to her musical educational schemes in Chile.

Early life and education Helene Sara Alexander was born on 8 June 1924 in Breslau, Province of Lower Silesia (present-day Wrocław, Poland) to a Jewish family. Alexander's father, Max Alexander (1898–1962), was a publishing executive and her mother, Ilse Pollack (1894–1964), was an opera singer. Alexander grew up in Hamburg where she first studied piano. In April 1939, Alexander, her mother and step-father fled Nazi Germany on one of the last German ships destined to Santiago. On 28 October 1940, Nazi regime stripped Alexander of her German citizenship. Alexander later studied psychology at the University of Chile, where she specialized Montessori method of teaching for children with disabilities. During this period Alexander developed her interest in composition.

Career In 1955, Alexander returned to Chile. Between 1963 and 1968, she continued to focus on electronic music, composing a number of pieces.

In 1969, Alexander was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship and moved to Paris, where she befriended Pierre Boulez and John Cage. Alexander and Bodenhöfer had three children including Andreas Alexander Bodenhöfer, a composer, and Bastián Bodenhöfer, an actor, theater director, musician and cultural manager.

In 1951, Alexander officially gained Chilean citizenship.

Works Selected works include:

String Quartet (1957) Cantata of death in the morning (1960) Aulicio Aulicio II Méralo for guitar (1972) (dedicated and premiered by Leo Brouwer) Ellos se perdieron en el espacio estrellado for orchestra (1975) Chacabuco: Ciudades fantasmas, hörspiel (1994) Cuando aún no conocía tu nombre (1996)

Discography Jezira Santiago de Chile: Proyecto FONDART 2000. Homenaje Santiago de Chile: Proyecto FONDART 2009.